New Delhi:
The Congress will contest the Bihar Assembly elections as part of the opposition bloc INDIA, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said at the party office in Patna today.
Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), a member of the opposition bloc, had said the INDIA grouping intended to focus only on the Lok Sabha elections.
“BJP and RSS must be defeated in Bihar. We will defeat them by uniting with the INDIA bloc,” Rahul Gandhi said. “You are the lions and tigers of Congress. Get ready to fight,” he told the party workers.
The Assembly elections will be held in Bihar this year.
Tejashwi Yadav, who was empowered to take big decisions along with his father Lalu Yadav at today's RJD executive meeting, has not yet spoken about Rahul Gandhi's comments that Congress would fight the Bihar elections with the INDIA bloc.
The RJD will amend its party constitution to give Tejashwi Yadav the right to change the party name or symbol. The amendment will be presented at the upcoming State Council meeting.
Rahul Gandhi later today went to Lalu Yadav's house in Patna and met his family.
Attacking the Nitish Kumar government, the Congressman said the education system in Bihar is “completely sold out”, depriving young people of the opportunity to secure jobs.
“Young people cannot get jobs in Bihar. Inflation is skyrocketing and poor people are being crushed,” he said, signaling a focus on tackling economic and social challenges.
Nitish Kumar heads a coalition government in Bihar, with the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP being the main voters.
Rahul Gandhi also met a delegation of aspirants protesting against alleged irregularities in the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exams. The delegation asked him to visit Gardani Bagh where several candidates staged a round-the-clock protest against the cancellation of the combined competitive exam held last month.
“We have urged Rahul Gandhi to visit Gardani Bagh, our 'dharmabhoomi' and 'karmabhoomi'. He said he will take some time off. As Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he is known to the entire nation and his support means a lot to us,” Suman Saurabh, a student from Sitamarhi, told news agency PTI.